Doorbell stopped ringing

[roncachamp]

Installed the Nest Hello several years ago.  Worked as advertised, no issues.  Recently the doorbell stopped working.  Not the Nest doorbell, not the App, the hard-wired mechanical doorbell chime that was installed over thirty years ago stopped working.  Every other function of the Nest Hello worked but pushing the doorbell button did not activaye the doorbell.  Checked the wiring, voltage from the transformer, everything was good.  Removed the Nest Hello from the mount on the door frame, touched the wires together, and the doorbell chimed loudly.  I concluded there was an internal fault of some kind.  The only solution I could see was to replace the unit.  I ordered a wired Nest Doorbell (2nd Gen), installed it today.  No problem with the installation, works great, except the doorbell doesn't ring. 

I'm at a loss here.   That the doorbell functioning as it's supposed to when the Nest Hello was removed suggests the problem was in the Nest Hello.  But the new unit also unable to activate the doorbell suggests the problem was not in the Nest Hello. 

[MplsCustomer]

@roncachamp 

I'm assuming you installed the "chime puck" for the 2nd gen doorbell, and there are no issues with how it's wired?

https://support.google.com/googlenest/answer/12153643

[roncachamp]

Replaced the old puck with the new puck.  Wired IAW the video, as was the old one.  

[MplsCustomer]

@roncachamp 

As another Google Nest customer, the only other thing I can suggest is a new transformer, one that is more than the minimum required. We upgraded to a 16 V 30 VA transformer a couple of years ago for our Nest Hellos.

By the way, the failure of the Nest Hello to ring your doorbell chime could be the failure of the Nest Hello's internal battery. It's failed on all 3 of our Nest Hellos. See this very long thread (1,000+ replies):

https://www.googlenestcommunity.com/t5/Cameras-and-Doorbells/Nest-Hello-Doorbell-cuts-out-when-butto...

[roncachamp]

I had to upgrade the transformer when I installed the Nest Hello.  Worked fine for years, then the mechanical doorbell stopped chiming about three weeks ago.  I'm getting 21 volts at the chime.

[MplsCustomer]

@roncachamp 

When your Nest Hello is pressed and fails to ring your mechanical chime, does it also go offline for a minute? If so, I would encourage you again to look at the thread I referenced above. The undocumented internal battery on all 3 of our Nest Hellos has now failed; all 3 fail to ring the chime and go offline for a minute. We've had to turn off the "Indoor chime" option (that prevents the doorbell from going offline) and turn on the "Visitor announcements" option, and we now rely on announcements on our Nest Hubs.

[roncachamp]

No, when the Nest Hello was pressed and failed to ring my mechanical chime it did not go offline.  Nor does the Google Nest 2nd Gen that was installed recently go offline when pressed but it too fails to ring my mechanical chime. 

[MplsCustomer]

@roncachamp 

Oh. That's another wrinkle. So you have a 1st gen "chime connector" and a 2nd gen "chime puck" connected to your chime. Perhaps they're not wired correctly, or perhaps they don't work well together. Some customers have also reported issues with the 2nd gen "chime pucks".

[roncachamp]

No, I replaced the 1st gen "chime connector" with the 2nd gen "chime puck".

[MplsCustomer]

@roncachamp 

You need a separate "chime connector" or "chime puck" for each doorbell. We have 2 Nest Hellos on one of our chimes, and we have a "chime connector" for each doorbell.

https://www.googlenestcommunity.com/t5/Cameras-and-Doorbells/I-would-like-to-add-an-additional-nest-...

https://support.google.com/googlenest/answer/12153643?hl=en

I don't know whether the 2nd gen "chime puck" will work with a 1st gen Nest Hello doorbell.

[roncachamp]

I have only one doorbell.  The 1st gen Nest Hello and 1st gen "chime connector" worked together as advertised for about three years.  About three weeks ago they ceased activating the mechanical doorbell while all other features continued to work as advertised.   Removing the 1st gen Nest Hello and connecting the exposed doorbell wired activated the mechanical chime.  Based on that I concluded the 1st gen Nest Hello had failed.  I ordered a Google Nest 2nd gen to replace it.  I replaced the complete Nest setup, I am not mixing 1st gen and 2nd gen components.  The 2nd gen Google Nest, correctly installed as directed by the video, does not activate the mechanical chime but all other features work as they are supposed to.

[MplsCustomer]

@roncachamp 

Sorry. It was definitely my mistake for getting confused along the way.

I guess I don't know why BOTH your previous Nest Hello and your current 2nd gen doorbell fail to ring your chime.

- It could be that your chime has failed, except that it works when you touch the wires.
- It could be a problem with the transformer; even though it's fairly new, that could explain the failure in both doorbells. (Some customers have found that, while their old transformer would ring the chime WITHOUT the Nest doorbell, they needed a new one to get their chime to work with the Nest doorbell.)
- It could be separate issues with both the Nest Hello and the 2nd gen doorbell.

If you search this forum for "chime puck", you'll find posts from other customers having problems with the 2nd gen "chime puck". Some have solved the problem by getting replacement "chime pucks"; that has sometimes meant they had to replace their entire 2nd gen doorbell. Perhaps some 2nd gen "chime pucks" are defective.

In these posts, some customers have removed their "chime pucks" and found their 2nd gen doorbells then worked AND rang the chime, leading to all sorts of discussion about why Google Nest says the "chime puck" is needed to power the doorbell's camera.

I don't know if my ramblings will help, but good luck.

[roncachamp]

I disconnected the chime puck.  Pressed the doorbell button.  No change.  Still have video and audio, still get the alert on yhe phone, still no mechanical chime.  Causes me to wonder, what is the intended purpose of the puck?

[MplsCustomer]

@roncachamp 

Google Nest--in responses in this forum, not in any documentation--says the purpose of the chime connector is to provide continuous low voltage electrical power for the doorbell's camera without tripping the doorbell chime.

I think I can assume that the "Indoor chime" option is turned on for your doorbell.

I'm just another Google Nest customer, and not an electrical expert. But if you can trigger your doorbell chime by touching the wires together but neither Google Nest doorbell will trigger the chime, then my guess is that your transformer is not providing enough power for the Google Nest doorbell to trigger the chime.

[roncachamp]

My home was originally equipped with a 10VAC transformer to power the mechanical chime.  The stated Nest requirement was for 16-24VAC, so I purchased a higher output transformer when I installed the first Nest doorbell about three years ago.  The data plate on the transformer is blocked from view but the output measured with my multimeter at the mechanical chime, with the leads disconnected, is 21.5VAC.  It worked fine until about three weeks ago.  

[MplsCustomer]

@roncachamp 

I have no other suggestions besides the transformer. You could try contacting Support:

https://support.google.com/googlenest/gethelp

[Brad]

Hi there,

Reading through this conversation, I would agree with user MplsCustomer, that it may be best for you to reach out to support on this one. Looks like it could still be related to concerns with your transformer, but I would see how support can help you. If you fill out this form, they will reach out to you.

Best regards,

Brad

[EmersonB]

Hi folks,

@roncachamp, we wanted to follow up and see if you were able to fill out the form? Let us know if you have additional questions.

I appreciate the help, Brad and MplsCustomer.
 
Regards,
Emerson

[EmersonB]

Hey roncachamp,

We haven't received your form — were you able to fill it out?
  
Best,
Emerson

[EmersonB]

Hi roncachamp,

Just one quick final check in here since activity has slowed down. We'll be locking the thread in the next 24 hours, but if you still need help, we would be happy to keep it open. If there's more we can do, just let us know.
 
Thanks,
Emerson